Wednesday 5 November 2014

My Bucket List

Although not an overly positive title the phrase 'bucket list' (as in a list of things you'd like to do before you kick the bucket) is something that really appeals to me. I'm a big list maker and organiser. I love to plan things, and get pleasure out of ticking off a 'to do' list. 

Recently, I've experienced some life affirming moments - friends and family members with serious illnesses thrust upon them, sudden tragic deaths in my extended family, and a celebrity whom I adored (actress Lynda Bellingham) lose her life to cancer. All of this combined has left me with that sense that life is just so short, and has reminded me how important it is to appreciate every moment and make the absolute most of each and every day. 

I'm not sure that I had truly even begun to think about my own mortality until I had children, and once Bert came along I had this sudden sense of all of the dangers around me. I became acutely aware that I didn't want to put myself in any unnecessary danger, and now almost constantly (and perhaps irrationally) worry about Bert, and try hard to protect him as much as is humanly possible.

I've talked before about not wanting to become an anxious wreck of a parent, and trying hard to get the balance right in terms of what I worry about, and how much I worry in general. In the same sense though, I now feel compelled to ensure I get absolutely everything I can out of life, for both myself, and my family. 

One of my big aims was to get fit, improve my health and lose a lot of weight - spurred on by the arrival of Bert I became determined to be the best version of me I could be, I want to be around for a really long time for my boy, and I knew that being drastically overweight would reduce my life expectancy - it would also set very bad examples for my son. So, I set about shifting the weight I needed to, and now, 14.5 months later I'm over 6 stone lighter and feeling really great. 

This achievement has left me with a sense that I can really do anything I put my mind to, and so I sat down and started to compile a list, a bucket list if you will, a random collection of things I'd like to do, places I'd like to visit, restaurants I'd love to eat in, tasks around my house I dream of completing, experiences I'd like to have, things I'd like to own… 

Obviously, the list is by no means 'finished' and will no doubt be ever-changing - I am forever discovering new things I'd like to do, or places I'd like to visit, and at only 28 years old I'm hugely aware that there's so much more out there for me to discover. The list will grow and change as I grow and change - I will scrub things off as my mind changes, tick off completed items, and continue to add new things to the list - but I feel better for writing it. I always feel better when I put my ideas down in black and white. It somehow feels more possible for me to complete if I can tick it off a list. 

The list is I guess quite materialistic - it doesn't cover my wider aims in life such as having more children, maintaining a happy marriage, being a good parent, being healthy and maintaining my weight loss etc. This list is just about 'stuff' - what I want to do, where I want to go, things I'd like to experience.  

What would make it on to your bucket list? 

Do you share any of the aims on my list? 

Mrs B 

xxx

Lucy's Bucket List

- Visit a German Christmas market

- Go to New York - shop, eat A LOT, and see a show on Broadway

- Visit Disneyland Paris at Christmas


- Visit Padstow, Cornwall


- Visit Mousehole, Cornwall 


- Take Bert/our children to DisneyWorld, USA


- Go to the Harry Potter Studio Tour in Watford & drink butter beer


- Visit Paris again and go to a traditional Parisian Flea market 


- Fly in a hot air balloon 


- Walk into my favourite clothes store with £1000 to spend 


- Perform as an actress again


- Learn to crochet

- Take Bert to Legoland, Windsor


- Take Bert to Peppa Pig World


- Own a Pendleton bike with front basket


- Do a loft conversion on our home to make a master bedroom for Liam and I


- Own a sleigh bed which houses a hidden TV at the bottom

- Have our driveway block paved


- Have balustrading & gates put up around our patio in our back garden


- Have some adjustments made to the design/layout of our kitchen


- Redecorate our living room


- Have the whole outside of our house re-painted


- Have shutters fitted instead of blinds/curtains in our home

- Redecorate the study/my blogging nook

- Make our spare room into a 'big boy' bedroom for Bert (Ere' Be Dragons theme)

- Write a book & self publish it

- Become my own boss

- Eat at The Fat Duck in Bray

- Eat at Paris House in Woburn

- Eat roast beef and yorkshire pudding at Simpsons in The Strand, London 

- Eat in Tom Kerridge's pub, The Hand and Flowers, in Marlow

- Own an original painting by Anita Klein

- Own an original paper cut by Rob Ryan

- Have afternoon tea at The Goring, London

- Have afternoon tea at Claridges, London

- Have afternoon tea at Betty's of Harrogate

- Reach 10 stone and maintain that weight

- Overcome my phobia of having my feet touched & get a pedicure

- Have a second child

- Work in a life-coach/inspirational speaker role (organising, weight loss, mindfulness etc)

- Learn to drive

- Perform on stage at The National Theatre

- Have singing lessons/voice training again

- Make my own dress from scratch

- Make some Pyjama bottoms for myself from scratch

- Make something for Bert to wear

- Wear a bikini and feel pretty confident




… I will update this list as I think of new things to add, and tick things off when I complete them.